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Turning a mule into a race horse.
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SamforMayo wrote: »You have a great attitude, best of luck with your plans. You have achieved a lot already especially in your weight loss journey, you have a lot to be proud of. And you nearly made me cry in your race report with you stopping to kiss your kids, you big softie!
Thank you. I am indeed a massive massive softie where my kids are concerned
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Bumpity bump :pac:
The anyways sqeamish should look away now and / or skip to the next post on the log.
As mentioned over on the novices thread and I think to a few boardsies in person I was off to have a procedure done on the Wednesday after DCM. The procedure being a vasectomy. Sweet mother of Jesus is all I can say about the swelling that comes with this ! Usually everything is back to normal within a couple of days and I was expecting to be back out running last week but unfortunately a bit of a complication occurred. A particular part of the tubes got a small bleed. Except this part is akin to the situation where your fingernail takes a hammer to it. The pain of a fingernail bruising is more to do with the fact the bruising / blood has nowhere to go. And when you have a situation like this down below the discomfort / pain makes running impossible.
The good news is that things are looking up (there is a pun in there for the dirty minded
) and am hoping to get a few miles in tomorrow. Have signed up to the DCM 14 graduates thread and am really looking forward to how this develops. 0 -
5 miles done this morning. Went out with the intention of doing 5 easy but got a bit carried away.
Little bit tender afterwards but no major ill effects.
Warmup mile, 2 at MP, 1 pushing it a bit and 1 cool down mile.
10:07, 9:49, 9:43, 8:37, 10:13
Happy with that.0 -
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Short lived recovery as it turned out :mad: but back on track now. 1 hour done during the week and another hour this morning at easy pace with no ill effects. Going to be following a plan laid out by Clearier in the 2014 graduates thread for the next few months. Interesting approaching it from a time per session rather than a goal distance per session.
Found it painfully slow this morning at the lower end of the easy target heart rate scale but hopefully that will improve in time. The easy rate based on my max hr of 192 from the self test in August worked out at 135-155. I made a concious effort to run within this zone for 6 miles in total. Started off slow heart rate spiked up close to 170 at start but then settled down. Was aiming for 140 for first 2 miles to see what pace that gave me (didn't look at the pace at all until the mile split each time) Decided on the 3rd mile to bring heart rate up a bit towards the higher end of easy rate and then dropped it back for mile 4. Had to slow quite a bit at start of this mile to get it to come back down but still was a bit shocked at the time split. Went back up then for mile 5 and 6 coming in at 10:15ish again.
Splits / HR
11:15 144bpm
11:00 139bpm
10:19 150bpm
11:40 143bpm
10:15 154bpm
10:16 152bpm
So it seems consistent enough that at the top end of the scale I'm hitting 10:15 pace for an easy run. I would normally have "felt" my easy pace would be just under 10:00 miles. The 11:00 and 11:40 miles were painfully slow and difficult to maintain.
I suppose the question I have now is to ask does that make sense versus the max hr. I feel from the effort levels this morning that for them to make sense I should have a max hr over 200 ! or maybe it's a general lack of conditioning on my part. I will give the heart rate test another go at some point in next couple of weeks. Don't want to push things too much from a recovery from the procedure point of view yet.0 -
Oooops - been a bit too long with no updates. Real busy times at work.
4th Dec
4.6 miles @ 9:42 pace avg
2 of these done at HMP 8:32 and 8:29
Targeting 1:52 - 1:55 for the Bohermeen half in March. Might be a fraction optimistic but for the moment will go with it and see how stamina goes.
6th Dec
First reasonably LSR since DCM. 90 minutes done. 8.8 miles @ 10:12 avg pace. Very happy to get something decent distance wise in.
9th Dec
4 miles done in the strongest winds I've ever ran in. At one point I was near sprinting effort wise yet close to running on the spot speed wise. This is a bit of a wind tunnel effect on a local road. Burnt myself out and stopped to walk and had to hang onto a lamp post to stop me blowing down the road such was the strength of the wind. Crazy night for running. Got over it and knocked the rest out at a relatively easy effort.
4 miles total @ 10:28 avg
11th Dec
Quick run in more ways than one. Had limited time for this but felt strong and good. There is a short local strava segment that I have not ran in a while because it is only 3k and involves turning half way and coming back. It's 1.5k uphill and 1.5k back down. During marathon training I was running longer routes every run. Got to the start of the segment and I was running at pace anyway - partly because of time constraints, partly because it was feckin freezing and I needed to run fast to stay warm. At the time I couldn't remember what my PB was for the segment. I know that when it was set I had nearly gone all out though. I decided that I would run the segment at a decent effort / pace (relatively for me anyway) and see how it compared afterwards. Was very happy to discover I had smashed the PB by nearly a minute. That said it was a little slower than my PB 5k pace so it's nothing to be too excited about. However it wasn't at 5k race effort which is the main point of progress.
Segment done at 7:55 pace / Overall 3.5 miles at 9:01 avg
Aiming for a longish run again tomorrow and a proper revisit of a heart rate test during the week to see if I can nail an accurate rate.
Right - I have about 30 logs to go catch up on
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Another 10 miler in the bag.
Had a shocking hangover this morning - no better way to combat it than to get out for a long run in the phoenix park Left the car at the castleknock end, went right around by the S bends, out of the park and up towards the city centre before looping back into the park and up the north road. What this meant was that the first 5 were predominately downhill with the last 5 uphill. Aimed to run this partly by easy pace target of 10 min miles but keeping a close eye on the heart rate too. Heart rate was well under easy target for first half and a bit over for the second half (primarily due to 2 miles of decent effort going into a head wind up the north road that I ran a bit too fast) Averaged out at 162 which is top end of the easy band based on my new more accurate max HR.
Happy enough to see consistent LSR distances coming back in but need to improve the mid week runs. Missing too much of these.0 -
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No running since Christmas day - vomiting bug hit the house hard.
Seems to be the done thing to have a look back at the year in running that was 2014 and look forward to 2015. The year has seem some big improvements for me personally. As always I do know there is still a long way to go for me but the improvement is all relative. The biggest marker for me is my weight loss. 2 stone off this year taking me down to under 13 stone for the first time in 2 decades.
In January I joined up with the Donore Harriers fit 4 life group to give things a bit of a structured kick start. Later on in the summer and into marathon training that got parked aside a bit but I do want to get back into a club situation this year.
March - First race of the year. 10k Went into it with a PB of 1:02:52. Came out with 57:44 Was meant to do another one in April but sickness put a stop to that. (Sickness and injury appear a lot over the years look back actually which is very frustrating. I feel that progress was greatly hampered by this but may be a sign of pushing myself too hard)
May - Terenure 5 miler. Went in aiming for sub 40. Previous PB was over 47 minutes. This was my main goal race of the first half of the year and sub 40 was a target I had set 2 years previously and never got to. Came out happy enough with a big PB but missed the sub 40 coming in at 41:11 after blowing up. 2 weeks later I had another swing at it in Dunboynes 5 miler. Didn't announce it here in advance. Just went for it after feeling I had sold myself short at Terenure. Gave it absolutely everything I had and came home at 39:37 along with a host of PBs over shorter distances during it. That was the highlight of my year.:)
June - Entered the Bohermeen 5k with a PB of 28:34 - Came out with a very satisfying 23:55.
July - Chi Running course totally changed my running style. It turned out to be a great improvement for me personally but did take a bit of time to retrain the body muscles to the new form.
August - Didn't fully race due to lead up niggles the DLR 10k but came out with a 53:20 - big PB but I reckon I would be in close to sub 50 shape.
October - A disappointing DCM to be honest. Sick in the run up. Barely made the start. Cramped up badly half way through whilst on track for my targeted 4:15:00, pulled out, kept going and literally collapsed over the finish line in 4:58:34. Still was a PB by over an hour.
All in all though it's been a positive year. Lots of official PBs and unofficial ones along the training way. Weight is coming off. The silly goatee is gone Progress is clear to see but I do want more. :pac:
2015 plans
First up is Bohermeen Half in March - Current official PB for this 2:18:30 would be looking to take that well under 2 hours. Maybe 1:55 but will set a target closer to the day. Similar to the year gone will try and get out for a few shorter races in the first half and then stare down the beast that is DCM for a 3rd time hopefully more prepared and less sick. In general want to up the mileage - try and hit 1500 miles this year.
Happy New Year everyone.0 -
Neglecting this a bit
Sickness still had the house in a mess for a few more days but got out on Sunday 4th.
Sunday 4th
10 mile LSR @ 10:17 avg pace
My old heel pains reappeared right at the start of this which is more than a bit concerning. Hopefully it was the being laid up that let things tighten back up leading to pains. Time will tell.
Monday 5th
3 Mile Recovery run @ 10:59 avg pace
Thursday 8th
5 miles done @ 9:32 avg pace. Gradually sped up across these 5 miles doing the last one @ 8:32
Saturday 10th
13.1 Mile LSR @ 10:25 2hrs 16 min
Slightly disappointed with this. Set off aiming for a half marathon at closer to 10:00 pace. Was under this for first 10 miles but the last 3 were much slower and dragged the average pace down. Completely ran out of steam. Some excuse / circumstances in that these were uphill into a head wind and the run was done after being up at 5:30am for a days work. But that said am still a little deflated by it. I am hoping for a 1:55 half in early March and it feels a long way off that fitness wise.
Will be aiming to do 5 runs this week but will take the LSR mileage back a little and introduce a mid week session.0 -
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Pacing Mule wrote: »Impulse entry to Raheny 5 mile on Sunday week.
And the realisation later that I havent run a mile under my 5 mile PB pace in over 6 months. Maybe deciding to do a 5 mile race 12 days out isn't such a good idea :pac::D.
Think I will still go out and aim for a PB anyway. Will be interesting to see if the training during the marathon cycle stands to me on this - rusty as I may be from a speed point of view.0 -
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Pacing Mule wrote: »I think (emphasise think) that given my max HR is 200 that 190 would be ok for 5 mile effort so a PB is a realistic goal.
Yes, I agree it should be ok, it will probably hurt though and no doubt rise up to 195ish up the hill on the last mile. Who knows you might just discover 200 isn't even your max at all 0 -
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7 Miles @ 9:53 avg pace.
Heel still a bit tender so had decided that this weeks LSR wouldn't be that L.
Ran this 100% to easy heart rate zone. Heart rate stayed consistent and pace varied slightly between uphill and downhill but kept it at the consistent rate. Really happy to see the easy effort pace dip under 10 minutes for a consistent period. Fairly certain that's a first.0 -
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Thanks lads.
Quick update before tomorrow.
Wednesday - 5 miles @ 9:52 avg pace. 1 slow warmup, 3 easy and 1 bit of pace (8:30) for the last one just to stay in touch with a little pace.
Friday - 3 miles 9:24, 8:41, 9:17, easyish again with one mile at a bit of pace.
Tomorrow ...
Raheny 5 miler tomorrow. Not exactly prepared for this at all due to it being a last minute decision to enter. Up until 10 days ago hadn't ran a mile faster than 9 min pace in approx 6 months. But will still give a PB a go.
My history at 5 mile was chasing a goal time of 40 minutes which I plucked out of the air as some sort of reasonable target for a fat lad to aim at. First effort was 47:10. Got into realistic shape with weight loss etc last year and hit a disappointing 41:11 followed up by a 39:47 a couple weeks later as a second swing at it but I was destroyed getting there So it's a real case of will the endurance of the marathon training benefit here. I'm not ignoring the lack of targeted preparation for this race but I have to be confident that it will otherwise I'm defeated before the gun goes off.
Going to aim for a gold target of 38:59, Silver is 39:46, Bronze isn't in the equation. Seemingly Raheny has a tough last mile so I'm looking at a strategy of 7:40 pace for the first 3/4 miles allowing a bit of padding for the hill at the end.0 -
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I won't bother boring people repeating the last few posts / worries of under preparedness.
Got to Raheny early enough and had a bit of a reccy of the course. Realised then that it wasn't quite as simple as a mile uphill at the end. The uphill is split between the first and last miles so a slightly different strategy may have been needed. Lined up in plenty of time - the usual nerves and niggles appeared. Dismissed all of them and set off.
Mile 1
Played it smart and stayed to the left of the crowd knowing it would be all left turns. Congested right from the start. Panic set in and I ended up running on the footpath. Uneven surface but a bit of clear road. Turned up into the hill and kept it chugging along nicely. The watch was telling me I was bang on the target 7:40 pace but I didn't feel I was giving it 100% either. Happy days.
Landed it at 7:38
Mile 2
Heading into the downhill at this point and I'm thinking about giving it a bit of welly to bank more time. Decided against it and kept the constant pace up and save a bit for the hills back up.
7:34
Mile 3
Was glad I had held back a bit because halfway through this mile things started to become more of an effort. Copped as I went through mile 3 that I was on for a 5k PB which was a boost. Gave me the incentive to crack on into mile 4.
7:42
Mile 4
Nice start to this as its a little downhill onto the coast road. Braced myself for a big breeze on the coast road. None there - Woohoo! Slight incline though and started to struggle to maintain 7:40 pace. Bit of maths at this stage working out if I eased off what would that leave me with for the last mile to hit the goal sub 39. Eased it slightly not by choice to be honest.
7:45
Mile 5
Knew I had the climb back up to come. Leaned forward, head down, ploughed up the hill. Was busting my balls but the pace was still slowing down heading towards 8:30 which would have wiped out my PB. Didn't panic - told myself that the last half mile in around the circuit of the finish line was flatter and I could make it up there. Turned left. The road was still rising FFS ! Was really struggling now and hanging on to stay in touch. Finally I got to the last lap around the finish area. Looked up and saw a RSP shirt about 100 metres in front of me. Big illuminous thing and I said to myself beat that shirt and the time will take care of itself. Started gaining on him and then the cheeky git took off himself. Briefly thought about leaving him to it and then thought hell no - not having that at all. Stubborness kicked in and for the first time ever in a race I finished with a proper kick. Went over the finish line at 5:30 pace :eek: with Mr RSP eating dust.
7:32
New PB 38:13 (Watch time - Official time to follow)
The 5:30 effort resulted in a mini hooey afterwards ! :pac: Then I got handed some weight training for getting back to the car. That's some goody bag Raheny put together.
Have to be happy with that Beat the target time by 47 seconds. Strangely enough and I mentioned this to Mrs Mule afterwards as happy as I am with it I was happier when I broke 40 minutes last year. Maybe because that was such a long term goal that took so long to get to. I really should be happier with 38:13 though
All in all am really happy tonight. PB beers are in full flow.0
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